MAY 31, 1912
The Commoner.
MRS. BRYAN'S RESPONSE " """
Below will bo found Mrs. Bryan's response to
tho toast, "Dolly Madison," at the harmony
breakfast, given by tho democratic women at
Washington, D. C, May 20, 1912. After a brief
introduction, Mrs. Bryan spoke as follows:
"I wish, in tho beginning, to tell you how
glad I am to be with you today. I feel that wo
owe a large debt to the bright mind which first
thought of promoting good feeling among demo
cratic women by having them know each other.
"Men have a great advantage over us in this
particular, for a broad acquaintance and a con
sequent tolerance come to a man naturally
as a part of his daily work. With women tho
reverse is true, and I am sure we appreciate
thoroughly this opportunity to meet and to
know each other. The toasts, as assigned, give
me the pleasant task of speaking of the charac
ter of Dolly Madison rather than of her social
methods. We may 'ask, why Mrs. Madison?
Why do we not speak today of Martha Washing
ton, of Abagail Adams, or of our own Mrs. Cleve
land, who was so universally beloved when she
was our first lady? Here we bow to the wis
dom of our committee, for the reasons for their
choice aro quite sufficient.
"Washington's work was to get the govern
ment upon its feet; a work to which Adams con
tributed. With Jefferson- began tho reign of
real democracy, and Mrs. Madison was the first
democratic woman to hold authority. Jeffer
son had no wife. James Madison was then sec
retary of state and his wife, by virtue of her
position and of tho close friendship which
existed between tho two .families, was, to all
intents and purposes, the mistress of the White
house during the two terms of Jefferson's ad
ministration, save for the short periods during
which Jefferson's daughters came to visit him.
"Then followed eight years as the wife of a
president, giving her, in fact, sixteen years of
experience. Even if she had been dull which
"she was not she must have learned much
worthy of our consideration in that length of
time.
"Her work was tho more conspicuous because
of social and political conditions. The revolu
tion had brought tho colonies much closer to
gether in spite of difficulties of travel and slow
ness of mail. The people felt for the first time
the binding force of the word "American," and
attention was centered upon Washington.
"All these favorable conditions would have
gone for naught, however, had not the woman
fitted the times. Her ancestry made her a
power for unification, as in her veins flowed the
composite blood of Great Britain. Her paternal
grandfather was English, her paternal grand
mother Scotch, and her mother Irish. Her
father was a member of the Society of Friends,
and in this restraining atmosphere she lived for
Ntwenty-one years a school of repression and
self control which was doubtless valuable in
later life.
"In personal appearance she was most attrac
tive. A fine complexion, blue eyes, and black
hair which curled, were her strong points.
Whether she was really beautiful I had not been
able to decide, but while sitting here with this
charming portrait before me, I am convinced
that sho was.
"Dolly Madison had her limitations. She had
not the advantages of travel; did not even know
the life of her own narrow 'little country, as
she was unfamiliar with the New England colo
nies. Her education was gauged by tho meagre
standards of a century ago. She did not caro
for reading. Her letters show a kindly interest
in people, rather than a vital interest in condi
tions. It has been, said that her mind was
slightly out of focus meaning, doubtless, that
she lacked a sense of proportion. She some
times saw small things large, and large things
small. The lack which will appeal most to us
is that we have no proof that she entered at
all Into tho intellectual life of her husband; a
privilege which we hold most dear. These de
fects do not suggest any mental inferiority, but
are rather a natural outgrowth of her educa
tion and surroundings.
"One trait whiph caused her to develop, into
. the charming, easy social leader, which she was,
was her adaptability. As a Quakeress, she was
sober and demuro; in official life, tactful and
courteous, dignified or gay as occasion de
manded; In later life, faithful; in old ago
serene.
"Sho had excellent judgment, as is instanced
when, in her early widowhood, two notablo
suitors joined tho train of her admirers. Within
tho slight body of Madison sho saw a manly
soul, and preferred him to tho handsomo Aaron
Burr.
"Another largo factor in her success was her
genuineness. What sho was, fully as much as
what she did, makes her worthy of our imita
tion. Her suavity and affability wero not tho
polished veneer which ono too often finds in
society, an attempt to conceal a selfish nature
but which deceives no ono; It was rather a
raro bit of real growth springing from the soil
of kindly interest and nurtured by tho gentle
dews of loving good will. The phrase, 'a wish
to please and, what is more important, 'a will
ingness to bo pleased,' has been applied to Dolly
Madison with entire appropriateness. Sho was
willing to inconvenience herself in order to give,
others happiness, and received tho courtesies
of friends with gracious appreciation.
"In an ascending scale, it Booms to me, her
strong sense of propriety ranks next a most
important qualification, so important that it has
been called the sixth sense. It is not necessary
to enlarge upon this. Wo have occasion to note
almost daily tho pitfalls that besot those who
fail to see the eternal fitness of things, and wo
reallzo how valuable an asset Mrs. Madison hero
possessed. Few women, too, have been able to
so successfully tread the narrow path which
lies between tactfulness and insincerity. While
on tho way to Washington my thought has been
busy with this patron saint of ours. What,
after all, is her dominant characteristic? -My
judgment may bo faulty, but with me the scalo
is turned when loyalty lies in tho balance. Sho
was loyal first of all to her friends; she did not
forget the friends of early days, oven though
they wore in humble circumstances. I have no
doubt wo shall hear more of this later when tho
Dolly Madison snuff box is opened for our in
spection by Mrs. Ralston. Second, she was
loyal to her country. When tho British marched
upon our capitol, she it was who bravely stayed
alone, save for tho servants, in the White house,
and with her own hands packed the official
papers into trunks and sent them to a place
of safety. And when the troops had almost
reached the city, she it was who superintended in
cutting from its frame tho portrait of General
Washington. After the troops had gone, among
the very first to return to the blackened ruins
of the White house was tho faithful Dolly.
"But last of all, sho was loyal to her husband.
During the years of official life, his work was her
first thought. Through all the bitterness and
criticism, often unjust, such as comes to every
man in public life, she used her tactful skill
to conciliate the opponent and to disarm tho
critic. But to mo tho most admirable part of
this admirable life is not found in these years
of stress and struggle, but in the later years at
Montpelier. Giving up the social life which she
so much enjoyed, we see her there caring for
her husband's mother, who lived to be ninety
eight, and who for years was an invalid. There,
when tho frail little body of Madison grew
weaker and weaker, though his mind was still
bright; when with eyesight almost gone and with
hands hopelessly crippled with rheumatism ho
sat, a mere shadow of his younger self, there wo
see the supreme loyalty of Dolly Madison. For
seven years sho was ever at his side; she read
to him; she wrote for him; sho made smooth
tho path of his decline. What a privilege was
hers! Truly a gentle presence is this which
we have called from the haze of jel hundred
years ago!
"I know of no better sentiment with which to
close this toast than that which was once ap
plied to her by one raoro clever than I; a senti
ment which is a paraphrase of Decatur's cele
brated motto, and which I am sure will find
an echo in every wifely heart before me: 'My
husband, may he over bo right; but right or
wrong, my husband.' "
MRS. BRYAN'S TOAST
Referring to tho "Dolly Madison Breakfast,"
given at Washington, tho Cincinnati Enquirer's
correspondent said:
"The first and tho prize toast of tho day was
a eulogy of tho famous White house wit and
beauty, 'Dolly Madison, popular, bravo,
tolerant,' by Mrs. William Jennings Bryan who
demonstrated that not all tho oratorical ability
of tho Bryan family Is confined to the malo
members. The women agreed that Mrs. Bryan's
effort was a classic."
GOOD FOR VIRGINIA
Virginia's last legislature rofusod to ratify
tho incomo tax amcndmont to the federal con
stitution; bo mo of her legislators allowing
technical objections to outwolgh tho substantial
merits of the amondmont. But tho democrats of
Virginia, speaking through tho stato convention,
have put tho "Old Dominion" on tho side of tho
amendment and tho noxt loglslaturo will add
the stato to tho list of states ratifying It. Tho
Virginia platform says:
"Believing that tho principle of a graduated
tax on Incomes Is sound, equitable and thor
oughly democratic, and that tho proposed
amendment to tho federal constitution, which
has been submitted to tho several states of tho
union for ratification, designed to mako clear
the power of tho federal government to lay such
a tax without apportionment among the several
states according to population, should rccolvo
the ratification of Virginia and of such other
states as have not already ratified It, wo de
clare it as the senso of this convention that
said proposed amendment should bo ratified by
the next general assembly of Virginia, and wo
express the hope that a' democratic congress and
president will carry this method of taxation Into
effect at tho earliest opportunity, to tho end that
wealth may bear Its just proportion of tho
burdens of the government."
MR. UNDERWOOD'S VOTE
Tho Jacksonville, Florida Times-Union com
plains that Tho Commoner Is not giving Mr.
Oscar Underwood credit for having given his
vote and Influential support to tho proposition
to elect senators by popular vote. Tho Com
moner hastens to mako amends and to say that
Mr. Underwood Is entitled to respect for tho
vote he cast In favor of that groat reform. It
is all the more to his credit that he did this in
the face of tho fact that there was strong oppo
sition to it among his southern colleaguos. Tho
Commoner has never Intended to withhold from
Mr. Underwood or any other man tho credit
belonging to him. On the contrary it would
have been glad to have had tho opportunity of
complimenting Mr. Underwood with respect to
his conduct generally on public questions.
A MIGHTY MESSAGE
On another page will bo found the address
delivered by Hon. J. A. MacDonald of Toronto,
at New York, April 19, 1912. Mr. MacDonald
is the Gladstone of Canada; he is a Christian
statesman who submits public measures to ethical
tests. His message was delivered under tho
auspices of the men's religion and forward
movement at tho conservation congress and it
made a deep impression. It not only calls atten
tion to matters of transcendant Interest, but It
shows the dynamic force of a moral Issue In
the hands of ono whose character enables him
to stand for morality in politics. The poetic
lines with which he concluded ought to bo com
mitted to memory few lines contain so much
Inspiration.
OUT OF THE RACE
The New York World, a newspaper that has
been somewhat partial to Mr. Harmon, says:
"Governor Harmon needed a more decisivo
vindication than Mr. Taft, in view of the ag
gressive campaign that Mr. Bryan had mado
against him. He failed to gain this vindication.
That thousands of Ohio democrats, In a com
paratively small vote, should havo expressed
their preference for tho governor of New Jer
sey as against the governor of their own stato
is a decision without precedent in tho history of
democratic politics in that state. The Wilson
vote is doubly significant, in view of tho fact
that Governor Harmon was re-elected less than
two years ago by a plurality of more than 100,
000. Governor Harmon's one chance at Balti
more, in view of Mr. Bryan's bitter opposition
to his nomination, was to demonstrate that ho
had tho complete confidence of the Ohio demo
crats and could sweep his state. This chanco
is now blighted. It looks as if the ono unmis
takable verdict of the Ohio primaries is that no
Ohio candidate, democrat or republican, shall
be president. Ohio repudiates Ohio."
DEGRADATION
From the Washington Star: "There's a good
deal more refinement in athletics than thero
used to be."
"Yes," replied the sporting man; "but every
now and then some pugilist breaks loose and
talks about 'slugging over tho ropes' like a
political candidate."
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